Brew Bucket by SS Brewing Technologies

disney7 said:

Schumed, what holds the racking arm into the valve? Is it threaded or o-ring/press fit?

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I can answer that for you. The valve is a 3 piece assembly. There's the valve itself, which has a male threaded piece on the end. This has an O-ring on it, and it goes through the hole in the bucket.

For the inside of the bucket, there's a valve stem (the curved piece), a nut, and another O-ring.

You place another O-ring on the threaded valve piece on the inside, then insert the stem, and tighten it down with a nut.



I probably made that sound more complicated than necessary, but that's about it. The only criticism I might have is that they say to keep it finger tight, but if you rotate the setup counter-clockwise, you'll end up loosening the connection enough to likely spring a leak. This is easily overcome by simply rotating clockwise.

Braufessor said:

Kettles don't concern me - you are dealing with boiling hot temperatures that sanitize everything anyway. Fermenters on the other hand ...... stuff can get a foothold in a spigot you can't get inside to clean.

Anyone know if there is a comparable spigot that could fit in the opening that is easier to clean/take apart. I would buy one and swap it out if there was. Still looks like a great fermenter - just wish the spigot was a bit more accessible for cleaning.

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The great thing about small stainless fermentors, like a pot or keg, is that you can boil water in it to sanitize. I bottle from a stainless pot sanitized in just such a way.

Well I'm in the lottery for both a bucket and a fermenter but since brewhemoth had their 25% off I ended up spending my money there. I'll be saying no thanks if for some crazy reason I get selected for either of them...

Mine came by Fedex yesterday while I was brewing. I cleaned it up immediately and filled it with wort. I had a heck of a time getting the lid gasket in correctly, seems that it was just a little too big for the lip in the lid. I got it in there eventually and it's got a Belgian IPA fermenting in it right now. It fit perfectly in my son of a fermentation chamber. I wish it had a thermowell, but I'll consider adding one into the lid.
disney7: Not sure if nickmv's response was clear enough about the racking arm. The rack arm has two o-rings on it. That end is inserted into the valve from the inside of the bucket. The pressure from the o-rings is what holds it in place. And in the installation instructions it clearly says to only rotate in the clockwise direction or you'll loosen the valve and it will leak.

Good to know that they do really exist! I've been on the wait list for a few weeks myself, hope to pick one up as soon as my lucky number is picked (maybe two.....)

Oh these look sweet, gotta have one

Anyone try their conical?


EDIT...would have helped to search first!

Thanks for doing the review and pics step by step. Looks pretty darn good

It's Dry Hop day...2oz of Amarillo ...I will give it 5 days and then cold crash to see how well the cone shape collects the trub

Did notice the Krausen didn't really cake up on the sides like a bucket or carboy. IPA was 1.061 using US-05

Wow, that beer won't oxidize?

grathan said:

Wow, that beer won't oxidize?

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Why do you think it will oxidize? Have you never dry hopped before???

Only a handful of times, never in an open container like that. Do your beers taste good after 2 months?

I want one.

grathan said:

Only a handful of times, never in an open container like that. Do your beers taste good after 2 months?

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i think he opened it to add the hops and take a picture, it's probably not always open.

grathan said:

Wow, that beer won't oxidize?

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oxidation is always a concern but this isn't the earth shattering risk you think it is. The krausen protects the wort to an extent and a lot of professional breweries open ferment, letting the krausen build. It's quite common and some amazing beer results.

Anyway, thanks for the pics and scale on the bucket. It's on my list. It'll fit perfect in my fermentation chamber. I collect spare yeast off of starters and don't wash used yeast, so lack of dump valve is moot to me. this is perfect.

To OP or anyone else that has one...does the lid clamp seem like it clamps well enough to pressurize to 5 psi for filtered transfer?

The542 said:

To OP or anyone else that has one...does the lid clamp seem like it clamps well enough to pressurize to 5 psi for filtered transfer?

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Yes if you can seal the hole for the airlock

Schumed said:

Yes if you can seal the hole for the airlock

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I'm looking to do a weldless pass-through, ball valve the airlock and add a ball lock air fitting where the current hole is...if my lotto number for two of these is ever called.

Thank you sir

grathan said:

Only a handful of times, never in an open container like that. Do your beers taste good after 2 months?

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Just opened to dry hop and then sealed it back up.

My IPA schedule is always

1 - week ferment
5 day dry hop
2 day cold crash
bottle
usually are carbed in 5 days

I have had 3 different IPA's medal now using this method...I like my IPA's super fresh...2 months they will suck

The542 said:

I'm looking to do a weldless pass-through, ball valve the airlock and add a ball lock air fitting where the current hole is...if my lotto number for two of these is ever called.

Thank you sir

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Interesting...whats the purpose exactly for filtering this way? Trying to visualize the rest of the setup

Schumed said:

Interesting...whats the purpose exactly for filtering this way? Trying to visualize the rest of the setup

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The purpose would be filtering (or using a randal) straight from the fermenter to the keg without introducing any oxygen and not using multiple kegs.

I got mine recently as well. I have to admit there were details that I was not expecting that could easily have been left off to cut costs, but were there. Granted it was not anything Earth shattering, but sometimes the smallest details can make a difference. Because when you are trying to make a product on the cheap, the non-essential features are the first to go. The latches that hold down the lid are spring loaded, this could easily have been taken out and you could be left with a regular latch. It was this minor detail that shouted out to me that this product was of good quality. I can't afford a conical, but I wanted to give this a run, and see if the trub collected in the cone would make a difference. Even if it doesn't, I like the idea of a rotatable racking arm. You can start with it pointed up to not disturb the yeast and as your level drops you can rotate it down closer to the yeast. Granted $175 is not cheap and for me it was a stretch, but I figured this was the closest I would come to a conical. If you want to see my full review and pictures you can see them on my website. http://barleypopmaker.info/2013/12/10/review-ss-brewing-technologies-stainless-steel-brew-bucket/ I must make a note that I purchased this with my own money, this was not given to me to review nor was I paid in any way. I just bought one and was impressed with it, and wanted to share my point of view. I do have a small dorm fridge, not the real tiny ones, but the ones that are about 5' tall, and this fits inside. There is no more room for much else, but it fits perfectly for when I want to do a lager.

The542 said:

The purpose would be filtering (or using a randal) straight from the fermenter to the keg without introducing any oxygen and not using multiple kegs.

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When you get that complete, I would like to see a picture of what you are talking about. Sounds very interesting, but I cannot visualize it.

How much did shipping cost?

daveooph131 said:

How much did shipping cost?

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They have been offering free shipping until the rest of the year...based on their website

They should extend free shipping to all those on the list regardless of when they're finally able to fulfill the orders.

There was a free shipping promo code in the last issue of Zymurgy, I'm not sure if you actually need the promo code or not to get the free shipping, but it was good though December 31st. That was what I used so I got free shipping. I'm not sure of the rules on if I am allowed to post the promo code or not. But if you get Zymurgy, or know anyone who does it is in there. That is also the first place I even heard of this bucket.

I finally got mine. What an adventure it was with SS Brewing Technology to get it shipped..The people over there were dedicated to make it happen to me, but they really look overwhelm by their sudden popularity. To make it worse, I was trying to get a not standard shipping option with them!

Big thanks to Mitch at SS!

Here's are a couple of pics from the unboxing.

Review coming up.

They've stopped sending me emails. Was probably one of the first ones on the list too.

Want one of these bad when are they expected to get stock?

I've got a question for one of you lucky souls that's gotten on already.

I saw a post earlier that says the racking arm cannot rotate downward past horizontal. Would one of you please rotate the racking arm as far as it will go and see how much dead space there is before water starts coming out the valve? Too much dead space will mean wasted beer

Call_Me_Tex said:

I've got a question for one of you lucky souls that's gotten on already.



I saw a post earlier that says the racking arm cannot rotate downward past horizontal. Would one of you please rotate the racking arm as far as it will go and see how much dead space there is before water starts coming out the valve? Too much dead space will mean wasted beer

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Yep horizontal ....I'll be racking my IPA tomorrow to see how much is left ...I'll post picks

I just checked mine and it leaves 0.70 gallons in the bucket with the pickup at its lowest point. So, basically it has 3/4 of a gallon of dead space.

I'd prefer 1/2 a gallon, but it's pretty close. Maybe they'll come out with a modified pickup to decrease it. I'll see how high the trub goes in a few weeks (brewing a Belgian Dubble).

The pickup will swivel 360 degrees as many times as you want to twist it.

cold crashing I will keg or bottle tomorrow

disney7 said:

Maybe they'll come out with a modified pickup to decrease it.

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Could you put a small length of tubing on the end of the pickup tube to extend it down to your desired volume?

The542 said:

Could you put a small length of tubing on the end of the pickup tube to extend it down to your desired volume?

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Yeah you could probably use a whole separate racking arm it's just a simple piece of stainless that fits inside the valve

For those that have one would you mind measuring the circumference? I need to see if this will it in my mini fridge ferm chamber. My Carboy is 37" around and it barely fits.

Two questions...

What are you guys using for a blow off tube, if needed?

How are you measuring the wort temp... Can it be taken on the side?

daveooph131 said:

For those that have one would you mind measuring the circumference? I need to see if this will it in my mini fridge ferm chamber. My Carboy is 37" around and it barely fits.

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Look on page 2 I've got a picture of the bucket next to a standard bucket and standard carboy....its probably 2 inches wider than a standard carboy

I'll measure it for an exact measurement for you

BreezyBrew said:

Two questions...

What are you guys using for a blow off tube, if needed?

How are you measuring the wort temp... Can it be taken on the side?

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I'll use my normal blow off tube if needed....its just a piece of tubing that fits over a standard airlock....

my basement holds a consistent temp so I've never really worried about taking temps but if I needed to for some reason I would just open up and stick a santizied temp probe in there....the cheap sticker temp gauges that you can put on carboys buckets work well too